Pussy Riot, Punk Prayers for Freedom
Pussy Riot is a feminist protest punk rock performance art group that opposes the rule of Vladimir Putin, advocates for Feminist and LGBTQ+ rights, and fights for human rights including freedom of speech and freedom to perform.
The infamous Russian rebels have made herstory with their guerilla protest punk. The story of the collective has been eclipsed with the 2012 arrest after their performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on 21st February 2012 in Moscow, Russia. At a time that was fairly quiet with no service taking place, the members approached the steps of the alter, revealed colourful clothes including balaclava’s and began to perform. On the floor, the girls prayed to Mother Mary to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin. the members went on to sing their lyrics that protested against the confluence of Church and state.
Three members were charged with “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. Two members served two years in prison for this act.
Since 2011, Pussy Riot began holding impromptu performances at various public locations, which were typically punished with fines but this particular performance garnered worldwide attention and earned them a conviction. A lot of Russian people felt their religious beliefs were personally attacked and the message was not totally understood. It was known that the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church was in full support of Putin, calling his years in power ‘a miracle’. The collective viewed this as detrimental to the society in which the two most powerful benefactors of, favored the traditionalist views of women, censorship and art.
The Russian Justice system was exposed in full, in the documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer.
The documentary shows the staunch belief the members had throughout their lengthy trial and the extravagant media coverage that made for a piece of performance art itself. Scenes inside the court were simultaneously like red carpet events and a zoo, in which the were camera’s galore flashing everywhere, the girl were places in a glass sectional, separated from the jury and legal officials. It’s truly a bizarre scene.
When the members were allowed speech, they apologized for any offence caused but would refuse to please guilt to the charges that included ‘religious hatred’ and ‘disruption of social order’, for they believed it is a human rights issue to be able to perform in a public space exerting personal opinions.
Whether one agrees with their actions or not, the media treatment and harsh sentencing is evocative of a governing body that remains represses, defying individualism and the disobedience of conformist attitudes. The media escalation involved protests outside the courts, both against and in favour of Pussy Riot.
It is clear that Putin’s Russia will not tolerate disobedience, but it’s not simply with women. The story of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is unsettling and 2021 brings forth an extended storyline.
In August 2020, Navalny (the Activist-Politian who founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation) flew from Tomsk to Moscow but on the way fell drastically ill due to what was revealed to be a poisoning.
The pilot diverted back to a hospital in Tomsk where Navalny was placed in an ICU. It was revealed he was poisoned with Novichok, a group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union. After five months recovering in German, Navalny returned to Russia on 01/17/2021 only to be arrested after minutes on Russian soil. The Russian authorities have thrown various allegations on him including, fraud, embezzlement and other violations. Nevertheless as many other nation’s spokespeople have expressed, this arrest is ‘deeply troubling’. Punishment for opposition is a totally archaic process that should not exist in the 21st century.
Although Pussy Riot has since disbanded with the convicted member Nadia (Nadezhda Tolokonnikova) going on to use the name of the collective to put out music and videos.
PHOTOGRAPHY SANTI IMKORPO PAGNOTTA
A recent topic explored by Pussy Riot is the the fight against mass surveillance.
American counter-surveillance artist, Adam Harvey conceptualized the idea of the cubist inspired makeup to be used to prevent non-consensual tracking, trading and identification. Flattening the curvatures of facial features and adding distorted geometric patterns to confuses facial recognition software. This is being increasingly developed throughout several sectors such as e-commerce (Amazon) and social media (Facebook) as well as police departments and government agencies. Some organizations plan to use such software to determine personalities and predict criminality. Whilst the goal for everyone should be to optimize safety, there must be a limit to the invasion of privacy.
The story of Pussy Riot and their irrepressible and uncompromising stamina will remain invaluable to protest history.
Activism – How you can take Action from home.
Pussy Riot advocates for prison reform, including banning prison torture and manipulation as well as campaigning for the rights of imprisoned activists.
Prison abolition is a movement which is being fought via many different platforms worldwide. I myself attended this event in Amsterdam back in 2016. This Prisoner Support Benefit included informative workshops, yummy food and of course tattooing and piercings. The Tattoo Circus is a DIY organized festival against repression and imprisonment. It was my introduction to activism of this sort, it really opened my eyes and made such a difference being somewhere that was organized solely to show solidarity to the incarnated rather than reading about it.
In these unprecedented times, it’s harder to get involved in. With that being said, we have to do what we can with whatever platform we have and right now, that’s dominantly the internet.
Check out https://londontattoocircus.noblogs.org/for info on how to stay active in this current isolated climate.
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